Exalted - Narusians
Preface Let me get this out of the way first - yes, these are a blatent rip-off of the Nerubians and undead Nerubians from Warcraft III. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so this is it. This whole idea was started by Kai Bahamut asking me if Crypt Lords were cool enough to stat into Exalted, and it just snowballed from there. Narusian Origins The Narusian species was created from whole cloth during the high First Age by a particularly spiteful and archnid Lunar whose totem animal was the Black Widow Spider - her name, appropriately enough, was the Black Widow Queen, at least as far as the Narusians know. She created them with Craft (Genesis) primarily for one purpose: to send worship her way. Being a bitter, spiteful and hateful creature that not even her Solar Mate could love, she in turn was loveless, and created a race in her image. Narusian Society Narusian Society is a strict hierarchy; one's caste in life is determined by what one hatches as. Though there is opportunity for advancement it is rare, and primarily determined by one's age, essence, and utility to the nest. In all things one must obey one's superiors, and hope that one day one is valuable enough to be elevated. At the top of Narusian Society are two courts: the Court of the Scarab Lords (Under whose purview are the areas of War and Labor) and the Court of the Hive Queens (under whose purview are the areas of Creation and Magic). In rulership of these two Courts is The Scarab Lord and Hive Queen, respectively, each of whom command a number of votes equal to one-fifth of the rest of the court plus themselves. Descisions that affect the entire nest are decided jointly between the two courts (which must always be equal in number,) and if a consensus cannot be reached, The Hive Queen alone makes the final ruling. The bureaucracy of the entire Narusian society is patterned after this - the oldest and most respected member of any committee or court commands a total number of votes equalling one fifth of the rest of the court plus themselves, and if a court cannot reach a decision, the oldest member simply decides. Narusians have free will for most intents and purposes; the implicit threat of death and not being given a proper funeral is enough to keep most in line. However, Scarab Lords and Hive Queens can exert a true unnatural mental influence: any Narusian below them must spend one willpower to resist a direct and clear order. The Hive Queen is even more powerful: a Narusian below her (including all the other Hive Queens and Scarab Lords, but not The Scarab Lord,) must spend all of their willpower to resist her orders. This unnatural mental influence is enforced by the Hive: even the lowliest member of another hive feels no obligation to follow a different hive's will unless he or she is for some reason attempting to join that hive. Underlings Even the lowliest Narusian with the strongest self-willpower chafing under the orders of superiors that don't seem to know as much about their jobs as he or she does may take some measure of comfort in the fact that at least he or she has Underlings to do their own bidding. Underlings are lesser insects that may take numerous forms specialized to a task aiding their masters. Those which are a tunneler's Underlings might be six-legged beetles the size of a large dog with leg articulation as fine as that of an ant, allowing them to pick up the rocks the tunneler smashes free of a wall and carry them out to a bin, whereas those a Narusian who is in charge of bins commands might be the size of a mule and used as pack animals to pull the bins. Underlings all have an intelligence roughly equal to that of a severely challenged human: they may be compelled to perform a job they're suited for and little else. They have no free will; tasks are imprinted upon their mind by their Awakened master at the level of instinct, and they possess as much problem-solving as is nessessary to carry out the task and no more. Physiology Narusians are insects, first and foremost. Their organs and sinew are all carried inside a mammoth, exoskeletal structure of insectoid chitin that possesses interior support shafts for rigidity and internal support. They are hatched from eggs laid by the Hive Queen or other, lesser females, and fertilized by the Scarab Lord or other, lesser males. *Eggs laid by lesser females are fertilized by the Scarab Lord: these hatch into Underlings for the task the given lesser female required, and are quickly borne to her for imprintation and use. *Eggs laid by the Hive Queen are fertilized by other, lesser males, and hatch into Underlings for the task the given lesser male required, and are quickly borne to her for imprintation and use. **Eggs laid by the Hive Queen and fertilized by the Scarab Lord hatch in even statistical distribution into one of the four Castes and are sentient Narusians. **Eggs laid by lesser females and fertilized by lesser males are considered anathema to the Narusians, as they hatch into either the mother or fathers caste. Such eggs are destroyed if discovered, along with the parents if known. Religion and Death Narusian Religion is based around veneration of she who quite literally created them, the Black Spider Queen. This is as much out of self-preservation as out of respect for that which created them, for Black Spider Queen possessed a Charm which allowed her to conjure forth a customized, purpose-made poison against which she built an innate vulnerability in the Narusians - they have no defenses against it, simply becoming sick, then dying from it, completely inable to cure it. So completely did she build this vulnerability into them that the poison will destroy their souls (and their ghosts if used on already-dead Narusians,) as well as their dead husks. Their death rituals are complex affairs, for Narusians have but a single soul: they do not fit into the cycle of ressurection. This is by design; their souls simply accumulate in the Underworld, most of them entering a state of eternal deathly sleep far from the prying eyes of the Nephwracks and their Neverborn masters. Needless to say, Narusians find the prospect of crossing into the underworld without appropriate guides to be a terrifying prospect. Their death rites are careful affairs intended to ease this passage and assauge the spirit into satisfaction and slumber. The corpse will be prepared for the underworld by being handled by the Crafter caste, who will swathe the deceased in funeral wrappings after quickly adorning the shell as was proper for the Narusian's station in life. Next the appropriate prayers will be made by the priestly castes of the Magi, while the Scholars will enact Thaumaturgical rituals to preserve the eye for all eternity. The Laborer Caste will quickly bore out the deceased's funeral chamber, whether a small alcove barely big enough for the corpse for lowly Narusians to a grand chamber in a vast underground pyramid for Hive Queens and Scarab Lords. Finally once laid to rest, hordes of tiny, soft-flesh devouring Underlings will be introduced to the corpse, which will over the course of a few days completely free the inside of the shell of it's organs and sinew, leaving pristine citin behind, save only for the eyeballs (which they cannot eat and find repulsive.) During this time two Warriors will stand guard over the deceased, no matter how high in station or how lowly, an honor guard to the hearafter. Narusian Sorcery The Narusians are a powerful race, without question. They have innate Charms that allow them to perform well, but they also have an understanding of magic; their artificers are capable of forging Artifacts of the five Magical Materials, their Scholars understand the natural rituals of Creation, weilding Thaumaturgy to powerful effect fueled with their own Essence, and their Priestly Caste, while primarily taken up with the worship of Black Spider Queen, also understand how to make offerings in the name of other, lesser (mostly Terrestrial) spider and insectoid spirits for divine intervention. But then there's the Sorcery. If her Solar Mate - or anyone, really - had known what she was up to, they probably would have had an anneyurism. Narusians, like all non-human races, are incapable of naturally channeling Sorcery. This was of little consequence to Black Spider Queen - she provided them with an unnnatural mechanism for so doing: the Heart of Sorcery. All Narusian Sorcerers are also Priestesses of the Black Widow Queen; there is no overlap between their Sorcerers and Priests, they are one and the same. Narusians practice much sorcery, but they do not summon Demons (though they can) as they cannot Bind them; this would typically followed by the summoned Demon going on a rampage before being brought down. The Heart of Sorcery *'Artifact N/A' The Heart of Sorcery is the means by which Narusians access Sorcery, and if any other people knew of it, they would immediately wage war to seize it. In fact, the dead already are. The Heart of Sorcery is an artifact into which Black Widow Queen bound her own Sorcerous talent. From it flows a font of sorcerous insight: attuning to it grants those attuned to it the ability to learn Sorcery and take Shape Sorcery actions, even if they themselves do not belong to a people that never wrested the right to Sorcery from the world at large. It is also a font of sorcerous power; Sorcerers attuned to it may embue it with Essence and Willpower ahead of time by praying it directly into the orb from anywhere and call upon that banked power later; while the conversion is highly inefficient (one out of ten motes spent into the Heart can be retrieved later and one out of three Willpower,) any given Sorcerer may pay and and all Willpower costs associated with his or her sorcery entirely out of their 'account' with the Heart, and may pay up to 3/4ths of any Essence cost out of their banked motes. **'Where does the excess go?' Simple: It is prayer, sacrificed as prayer. One mote out of every ten goes straight to Sol Invictus, four motes go to Heaven's Bureau of Deities of Sorcery adressed 'to whom it may concern,' and the remaining four motes are in Black Widow Queen's name; whether she is still alive in the Age of Sorrows to claim her portion, or whether her slice gets directed to the Bureau of Undeliverable Prayer for entry into the celestial dole to indigent gods is up to the Storyteller. Furthermore, the Heart of Sorcery functions in all respects as a tutor; the spells which Black Widow Queen knew, even those of the Celestial Circle (though these are inaccessable to the Narusians,) may be drawn forth from the orb at any time and any place by any attuned sorcerer who has the experience points to spend and time to learn. It also acts as a Tutor for the Occult ability as well, and as a side benefit of the power embued within it can teach any Thaumaturgical discipline known to any once or present attuned Sorcerer. As if that wasn't enough to make it highly desirable, the Heart of Sorcery simplifies (though not nessessarily lessens) the Trial of Sacrifice. Though some Narusian sorcerers wind up undertaking this Trial the more traditional ways, most of them do so with the Heart itself; they sacrifice a single Charm into it; this solidifes their attunement to the Heart of Sorcery forevermore. If the Realm ever knew of this, they would immediately wage war to seize the Heart: A single Charm is a steep price for a Narusian, but what Exalt could not cough up an unwanted (or acquired for this purpose) Excellency or purchase of Ox-Body? Though it may be a formalized bargain, the sacrifice is a permanent part of any Essence Wielder and thus legitimate. *Narusian Sorcerers must undergo the other trials in more normal fashion; they are taught humulity by being forbidden from begatting Underlings during their training and made to obey even the lowliest of Laborers, they are taught to face fear by being sent into combat alongside Warriors, they are taught Tutelage by being made to master a Craft un-favored alongside the Creators, and they are taught Journey by being exiled from the Nest for a year and a day. Lastly, the Heart of Sorcery can be wielded in battle in desperate times. An attuned Sorcerer can touch the pulsing purple orb, which is itself not too large (about three fourths the size of a human head,) and it will begin to orbit their brandished weapon or chosen weapon-limb or simply their hand. The Heart of Sorcery cannot speed the wearer's Shape Sorcery actions (indeed, nothing can,) nor will it permit even a wielder to access others' banked Essence or Willpower; instead, weilded in the fray of battle, it provides a surprising martial twist to the Sorcerer in dire need: *The wielder's (Essence + Occult) in dice of damage, up to the maximum dice inflicted, are converted to successes for 1m each. *The wielder may project the orb as a Thrown or Archery projectile from any valid weapon. When so launched, it has a range of 25 yards (Thrown) or 50 yards (Archery), and carries a damage rating of 7 + the wielder's Essence. The actual orb is not launched; it hurls a temporary duplicate of itself that explodes on impact, whether hit or miss. *All damage the wielder deals is Aggravated. The Heart has never been wielded in battle in Narusian history, though it was once collected for such purpose, when the main hive was being overrun by the deadly undead Narusians created by Breath of the Black Glacier and his Exalted Death Knights. Instead of wading into combat, however, the high priestess-sorceress saw the futility of fighting against such powerful fiends bolstered by their own dead, and fled the nest with the Heart, refusing to allow it to fall into such hands, though she had to disobey the Hive Queen to do so. *The Heart of Sorcerery is an Artifact N/A in absolute terms, for the sheer value it represents to the Narusian Nests and their civilization (or indeed, any civilization which possesses it.) To any individual Sorcerer, it is less valuable: as a weapon it is appreciable, but most sorcerers don't also have the time to master a martial pursuit. It's value for being a tutor is wonderful, but one could just as easily have a learned Mentor instead, or a Manse with a great many Libraries. It's only value as an artifact for an individual alone is as a weapon and to deny other Sorcerers it's benefits; a fact which, if other sorcerers knew about, would almost certainly end with the death of the selfish paranoid who was trying to keep the Heart to themselves. Although any Sorcerer should want it, it's absolute value comes into play not in the scope of one Sorcerer's magical might or martial prowess, but only in the scope of empire-building, where it would allow the swift dissimenation sorcery and lightning-swift dissemination of thaumaturgy. In the hands of the Jadeborn or Dragon Kings this would be a monumental boon, and even the Exalted (especially the Terrestrial Exalted) would find it worth smashing thousands of carapices to get. However, possibly the most frightening possibility is the thought that it might fall into the hands of spirits or gods, or worse - the dead (who are in fact, actively attempting to seize it.) If the Heart of Sorcery can allow the dead to channel Sorcery (which the Breath of the Black Glacier is betting it can,) then the Heart falling into his hands could be catastrophic. Castes There are four broad Castes of Narusian: Warriors, Laborers, Magi and Creators. Within each of those categories is an additional two branches into which a Narusian is born, and one into which he or she may evolove. The Castes are anything but equal: like good insects they are specialized for their tasks. These specializations have the effect of modifying their base statistics, as noted. All Narusians begin with the following traits: An Essence pool equal to their (Essence * 10) + their Willpowerr. Narusians are Awakened even at Essence 1; they are not considered Mortals for the purposes of any Charms which explicity affects Mortals. Unless otherwise specified, Narusians are not born with limbs equipped with hands; they must either purchase these with Charms or gain them through evoloution. They are capable of lifting objects or moving them, but not of fine manipulation (such as striking with a weapon or using a tool.) Narusians (unless otherwise specified) have shells of hardened armor; they resist Lethal and Bashing damage equally well with their Stamina, and add any Soak gained from Charms, including Stamina-boosters, to their Aggravated Soak. Laborers Laborers are exactly what they sound like; they do the heavy lifting and the digging. They bear the brunt of the work of the nest, and they do so without complaint, for it is what they were literally born to do. Laborers are born into either the Tunneler or Builder Caste, and older Laborers are known as Engineers, who make advisements and decisions on the construction and layout of the hive, the aquisition of ores, and so forth and so on. While most of the Laborer Caste's lot in life is one of hard labor, there are subdivisions, the choice of which is partially up to the individual (by way of developing the skills to qualify for it.) Tunnelers, for example, may find themselves advancing from raw digging to smelting ore, or they may find themselves laboring under members of the Warrior Caste as siege engineers and sappers, whereas Builders may go from being mere brute labor to shaping tunneled rock into masonry stones or constructing defensive fortifications. Laborers become Engineers later in life - in addition to the obvious connotations of architecture, Engineers also make decisions of civil planning and are the middle management of all the lower castes. Older Engineers who advance further may make laterial movements; those who have history working with the Warriors may become Destroyers, becoming the large, massive Narusians which tear down fortifiation and foe alike, or to Geomancers, becoming integral to the understanding and manipulation of ley lines and Manses. Laborers are always male, and they have the following characteristics: *Temperance starts at 2 and costs half to raise, Compassion is capped at 3, Valor is capped at 4 and costs double to raise. Laborers' Appearance and Manipulation begin at 0 and cap at 2. **Tunnelers Favor Craft (Earth and Fire primarily) and Resistance, and recieve an additional dot of Strength, beginning at 2. Both their Strength and Stamina cap at 6. **Builders Favor Craft (Earth Primarily) and Atheletics (Mainly for lifting large objects), and recieve an additional dot of Stamina, beginning at 2. Both their Strength and Stamina cap at 6. ***Engineer promotion is attained when a Tunneler or Builder evolves, advancing his Essence to 3. Engineers gain additional Favoring of Lore and Bureacracy, though the bonuses thereof are not retroactive for previous gains in those abilities. Engineers are larger than Tunnelers and Builders, though not greatly so. Engineers automatically emerge from their chrysallis with hands; they are not refunded the earlier purchase of hands via permanent Charm, instead they emerge with four limbs ending in hands. Warriors The Warrior Caste of the Narusians do exactly what they sound like: They fight the nest's wars. Since times immemorial the Narusian Nests have been at war - sometimes with each other, most often with the other nameless denizens that have never known the searing radiance of the God-Kings of the surface. Newly-born Warriors are born into either the Smasher or Spiker Castes, depending upon whether they were made to fight up close and personal or from behind, launching deadly ranged attacks. Older Warriors are known as Generals, though they are not the same Generals known to surfacer armies - a more apt term would range from 'Seargent' to 'Major'. The true Generals of the Narusian armies are the Scarab Lords. As before, though the initial Castes are defined, what an individual within larns to do will define his path; a Smasher is destined to be a fearsome Melee combatant, however one Smasher might be a heavily armored titan who invites his foes to waste their ranged ability on his mighty chitin and metal armor plates and delights in foiling the melee attacks of others, while another Smasher might be a lightweight who darts in and out of the main fray, making precise, powerful strikes before fading away. A Spiker might focus on directly hurting his foes with launching bone spikes from his natural crossbow, or he might focus upon projecting webs at distant, airborne foes in order to bring them to the ground that the Smashers might destroy them. Warriors are always male, and they have the following characteristics: *Valor starts at 2 and costs half to raise: Compassion starts at 1 and caps at 2. Warriors' Appearance and Manipulation begin at 0 and cap at 2. All Warriors' natural weapons (whether those they start with or those grown or grafted into their bodies) have the Natural tag and they cannot be disarmed (short of dismemberment.) Narusian' Natural weapons never have the 2-handed tag, and never suffer off-hand penalties. Warriors are always male, and have the following charicteristic adjustments: **Smashers favor Melee and Martial Arts, and recieve an additonal dot of Strength, beginning at 2. Their Dexterity and Strength cap at 6. ***Smashers begin life with natural blade-ended limb weapons equavilent to paired Chopping Swords, paired Short Spears, or a combination of Chopping Sword and Short Spear. **Spikers favor Archery and Thrown, and recieve an additional dot of Dexterity, beginning at 2. Their Dexterity and Perception cap at 6. ***Spikers begin life with one arm which ends in a hand, and one arm which is a natural crossbow, capable of projecting hefty spikes of chitin or manufactured bolts up to great distances. ***General promotion is attained when a Smasher or Spiker upgrades his Essence to three. He emerges from his chrysalis larger, sharper and clearer, now Favoring War and Bureaucracy, and possessing a new set of limbs with hands. For all Warriors, upgrading one's Essence refines one's natural weapons, causing them to become one step closer to Perfect. If a combination of Essence refinement and Charms would cause one's weapons to become greater than Perfect, one recieves an additional two singular increases which one may distribute following the rules for Perfect weapons. Magi Collected under the designation of Magi are those female Narusians which form the priestly and scholarly castes. Traditionally only the Magi (and specifically only the High Priestesses) and Hive Queens were alowed to attune to the Heart of Sorcery; as such they wielded tremendous influence in Narusian society. The Priests attend to the eccelestasial functions of the hive, directing all other castes in their supplications to the Black Widow Queen while the Scholars keep the records of the nests and weave the Thaumaturgy that forms the webbing underneath society. Magi are always female, and they have the following characteristics: *Conviction starts at 2 and costs half to raise; Compassion starts at 1 and caps at 2. Magi's Appearance starts at 0 and caps at 1. Magi begin with two arms which end in hands. **Priests Favor Performance and Linguistics, and gain an additional dot of Willpower, beginning at 2. Their Willpower caps at 11, and their Intelligence caps at 6. **Scholars favor Lore and Bureaucracy, and gain an additional dot of Intelligence, beginning at 2. Their Intelligence and Perception caps at 6. ***The Scholarly Caste are those responsible for most of thaumaturgy, though they do not yet favor Occult. Such is their lot in life. ***High Priests are made when a Narusian Magi enhances her Essence to 3. She now Favors the Occult and will typically begin being groomed for introduction to Sorcery. Creators The Creator Caste of the Narusians are the odd-balls. They were wrought from the part of Black Widow Queen that loathed herself and wished she were like all the other Lunars: beautiful, charismatic, charming, attractive. They are not loathed by the other castes of Narusian, but they are not loved. They alone are humanoid in form; a twisted mockery of human form which is all the more disturbing for the relative subtelty of the twisting: they possess only two eyes, a delicate jaw structure, two legs, and two arms terminating frail, five-fingered hands. A human would define their forms as 'curvacious' for they certainly have the bombshell figure that Black Widow Queen hated herself for not possessing, though it serves absolutely no purpose in a species which has neither live birth nor lactation. They also possess something of the warm personality that some part of Black Widow Queen hated herself for not possessing as well; unique among Narusians is a virtue of Compassion which can exceed 2 - indeed, the most callous of Creators is as compassionate as the most large-hearted Laborers and exceeds that of any Warrior or Magi. This too is a curse in Narusian society, though it helps them fulfill the vital functions the Hive needs performed. The Creators are further subdivided into two types: Crafters and Caretakers; the two types are specialized for exactly what they sound like. Creators are always female, and they have the following characteristics: *Compassion starts at 2; Valor and Conviction are capped at 3. Creators' appearance starts at 1 and is capped at 5. Creators' shells are surprisingly soft and supple - for being insect shell, anyway. Creators add only one half Stamina to their Lethal soak. All Creators gain an additional dot of Intelligence, Perception, and Dexterity, beginning at 2 and capping at 6. **Crafters Favor Craft and Burueacracy. They are the makers - from forging armor plates to be carefuly affixed to a warrior's carapice to metal claw-caps to allow a Laborer to more efficiently strike the earth to those who conduct the agriculture nessessary to sustain life, the Crafters do it. **Caretakers Favor Medicine and Socialize. They are responsible for the upkeep of the nest; tending to those injured, tending the eggs and the young, all of it falls under the Caretakers' purview. ***Masters Favor Lore. The Master evoloution comes when a Creator enhances her Essence to 3. If anything, her appearance is more of the same; what once were unsettling black orbs with white dots at the center become bright white with blue coronae surrounding black pools of variable diameter, terrifyingly Human features in a body which is a mockery of human form. They also become vigoriously exothermic, generating significant amounts of bodily heat, and their obviously insectoid features not purchased as permanent Charms diminish greatly; what were relatively large claws become small and inoffensively clawed two-legged feet, for example. Caste Combinations Higher-ordered Narusians do not fall readily into one of the Castes. Those who live long enough, are useful enough to upgrade their Essence to 4, become a combination of their own Caste and one of the adjacent Castes. All Caste Combinations come with statistic additions - these additions raise the natural caps of those abilities by an equal amount as well. Destroyers Between Labor and Warriors are the Destroyers. Mammoth, thundering, bellowing beetle-like engines of destruction, they combine the cunning intelligence of a ruthless general with the raw might of a Warstrider, tearing down walls and opposing forces with ease. Destroyers dominate the battlefield and the Court of Scarab Lords. Though most Destroyers come from the Warrior ranks, those Laborers who see much of the field of battle in sapping enterprises (and survive long enough) will often take the Destroyer route, not content to merely crumble fortifiations and watch the Warriors wage the battles. Destroyers join the Court of Scarab Lords. Destroyers have the following characteristics: *Add 16 Stamina and 10 Strength. **Destroyers' full Stamina rating is considered to be Armored Soak, and applies in full against Aggravated damage. Destroyers are large and tough! *Their existing Natural weapons become Warstrider-sized equavilents (See Book of Sorcery Vol. 1: Wonders of the Lost Age.) *Favor all of the following (no benefit if they already Favored it): War, Melee. **Destroyers suffer Mobility and Fatigue penalties of -3 and 4, respectively. They suffer the usual drawbacks of Warstriders in combat (that being difficulty attacking small targets and the way they wreck the area they fight in), though they may overcome those drawbacks with care taken. (Increasing the Speed of all their actions by 1) ***Note that Warrior and Laborer castes are large enough that Destroyers may target them with impunity. War-Magi Between Warriors and Magi are the War-Magi: The only males to be inducted into the Sorcerous webs come from Generals with a pious bent who sought the power, whereas the Magi with particularly cruel or violent streaks will seek to unleash their sorcerous might on the battlefield. War-Magi are tall, thin things; males retain their warrior heritage and gain sorcery, while females retain their sorcerous and priestly heritages and gain ability in war. Male War-Magi join the Court of Scarab Lords, while females join the Court of Hive Queens. War-Magi have the following characteristics: *Add 3 Intelligence and Charisma. *Favor all of the following (no benefit if already Favored): Melee, Ocult. *War-Magi add their Essence to their dice caps for Sorcerous ends. *War Magi's concentration is absolute - their Shape Sorcery actions cannot be disrupted. Geomancers Between Laborers and Creators are the Geomancers; they retain the forms they had previously, but now their shells are covered in scrolling, pulsing lines of essence. The see the lines of magic for what they are, and possess an instinct for manse and demense. Male Geomancers join the Court of Scarab Lords, while females join the Court of Hive Queens. Geomancers have the following characteristics: *Add 3 Intelligence and Perception. *Favor all of the following (No benefit if already Favored): Occult, Lore *Destroyers add their Essence to their dice caps for all ends involving geomancy. *Geomancers see the truth in all things. All Geomancers perpetually see as if they had All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight. Artificers Artificers are the combination of Creators and Magi. It is they who work with the wondrous Magical Materials, imbueing objects with Essence for greater utility; creating wonders beyond the everyday that the Scarab Lords and Hive Queens bear. Artificers join the Court of Hive Queens. Artificers have the following characteristics: *Add 3 Dexterity, Perception and Intelligence *Favor all of the following (No benefit if already Favored): Occult, Craft. *Artificers add their Essence to their dice caps for all ends involving Artifice. *Artificers can attune to Artifacts they themselves have made for three fourths the commited essence cost, with a minumum reuction of -1 and a minimum cost of 0. Category:Exalted